Adjustable crimping tool



June 22, 1965 J. c. COLLINS ETAL 3,190,319

ADJUSTABLE CRIMPING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 7, 1961 1 e 0 %/M Qw 4 WM m v 5 h 62 a a w 6 z FIG?) INVENTORS JOSEPH C COLLINS WALTER S.GILMORE FIG. 4

ATTOR NE June 22, 1965 J. c. COLLINS 'ETAL 3,190,319

ADJUSTABLE YCRIMPING T001.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 7. 1961 FIG.5

IN VEN TORS COLLINS BY WALTER S. GILMORE JOSEPH 'ATT EY United StatesPatent 3,19%,3H ADEUSTABLE CRIMPING TQQL Joseph C. Collins, Providence,and Walter S. Gilmore, Riverside, KL, assignors, by mesne assignments,to North American Philips Qompany, Inc, a corporation of Delaware FiledAug. 7, i951, Ser. No. 129,857 1 Claim. (Cl. 140-105) Our presentinvention relates to the crimping of electrical cord lead wires toconnectors and more particularly to an adjustable tool for a poweroperated press.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a crimpingtool which is adjustable to handle different sizes of wire andinsulation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablecrimping tool in which the adjustment can be made quickly and rapidly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablecrimping tool which is simple in construction and in which theadjustment can be accurately made by an unskilled workman.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, ourinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appendedclaim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a crimping tool embodying our invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of the adjusting members.

FIG. 4 is an exploded View of the adjustment mounting and assembly.

In the manufacture of electrical connectors, the electrical wires areconnected to the ends of the connectors by crimping. In some connectorsonly the bare wire is connected. In others the insulation is alsocrimped. This is accomplished by a tool mounted in a power operatedpress which automatically feeds successive connectors to a crimpingzone, The operator inserts the bare ends of the wires into theconnectors and then the press bends or crimps the lugs over the barewire and over the insulation. Different types of connectors are used andthe wire varies in size. There is also a variation in the insulation.When switching from one size to another, the crimping tool must bechanged, or an adjustment must be made in the heights of the tool toaccommodate the new size. Since the variation may be no more than a fewthousandths, such adjustments are diflicult to make. The pres entinvention is designed to provide a crimping tool having a simpleadjustment which permits easy and rapid changes to be accurately made ineither the conductor crimp, insulation crimp or both. The tool isdesigned for any desired number of adjustments.

Referring mor in detail to the drawings. The tool comprises a base it)which is normally mounted on the fixed bed of a power operated press.The upper portion of the tool 11 is normally attached to the verticalram of the press. The crimping operations are performed by the tools 12and 13. The inner tool 13 crimps the lugs around the bare wire and theouter tool 12 crimps the lugs around the insulation. Where no insulationis required, the tool 12 is omitted. Each tool 12 and 13 constitutes aplate which is bolted to the tool block 14 with a pair of horizontallyaligned bolts shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The bolts 15 pass through alignedopenings in the plates. For the purpose of making a vertical adjustmentthe tool plates 12 and 13 are provided with vertical slots 16 throughwhich they are locked by the bolts 15. This 3,i%,3l9 Patented June 22,I965 permits sufiicient vertical movement in both tools when the boltsare loosened,

The adjustment assembly is mounted above the tools in the block 17. Thefront of the block 17 is recessed at 18 just above the tools 12 and 13and the block is provided from the recessed portion inwardly with a bore19. We now provide a shaft 20 having a central axial opening 21extending inwardly from the rear end thereof. The shaft 20 is designedto fit snugly into the bore 19 but to extend short of the inner end ofthe bore. The outer end of the shaft 29 is provided with a reducedportion 22 on which the adjustment indicating member 23 is tightlymounted. The front end of the portion 22 is provided with a threadedopening 24 into which a finger engageable knob 25 is threaded.

The number of adjustments will depend on the different size wires beingcrimped in any particular plant. Since small variations can be handledby a single tool without adjustment, a large range of wire sizes canusually be handled with a half dozen adjustments. In the illustratedform the adjustment indicator is shown as a hexagon with sixadjustments. This is for purposes of illustration only. If a square isused four adjustments can be made. A pentagon will make fiveadjustments, an octagon eight adjustments, etc. Regardless of the numberof adjustments the construction and principals involved are identicalwith the illustration showing six adjustments. The adjustment member 23is a perfect hexagon and is provided with a small opening 26 near oneedge thereof in which a lock pin 27 is mounted and extends rear-wardlyparallel to the shaft 29. We now provide a pair of hexagonal adjustmentearns 28 and 29.

The cam 28 is provided with a central opening 30 designed to allow it toslide over the shaft 20 tightly and a small opening 31 which slides overthe pin 27 to lock the cam against rotation relative to the shaft 20.The cam 28 constitutes the outer insulation crimp adjustment cam and isslipped over the shaft 29 against the plate 23. The cam 29 constitutesthe inner conductor crimp adjustment cam and is slipped over the shaft20 adjacent to cam '28. The front surface of the cam 29 is provided witha raised portion 32 which acts as a spacer to space the cams 28 and 29.Now referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the sides of the cam 28illustrated therein are at different radii from the center. Cam 29 issimilarly constructed. Viewing FIG. 3 the dotted line 33 is drawnconcentric 'with the center of the opening 30. It will be seen that thesix sides of the cam 28 vary in distance from the center. This variationconstitutes the adjustment.

Now referring to FIG. 2, with the cams 28 and 29 slipped over the shaft2i) and pin 27, the shaft 2% is inserted into the bore 19 and a coilspring 34 is positioned in the bore with its front end entering theopening 21 in the shaft. The spring 34 tends to push the shaft out ofthe bore 19. In this position the plate '23 and cams 28 and 2.9 willfill the recess 18 with the bottom surface of the cam 22% abutting thetop edge of the tool 12 and the bottom surface of the cam 29 abuttingthe top edge of the tool 13. A look plate 35 is mounted to one side ofthe recess 18 and held in place by a bolt 36 passing through ahorizontal slot 37. When the parts are assembled as shown in FIGS. 1 and2 the bolt 36 is loosened and the plate 35 is moved to the right untilit overlaps the plate 23 to hold the adjustment assembly in the positionshown in FIG. 2 against the action of the spring 34.

In making an adjustment, the plate 35 is unlocked and moved to the left.The bolts 15 are loosened, loose-ning the tools 12 and 13. The spring 34moves the shaft 2t} outwardly and the knob 25 is grasped to pull theplate 23 and cams 2S and 2-9 clear of the recess 18. The shaft 2% is nowrotated until the desired side of the earns 28 and '29 are positioned atthe bottom. The

plate 23 may have the sides numbered or mounted with wire sizes so thatthe adjustment can be made visually. Whichever. side is placed at thebottom governs the distance between the cen'ter'of the opening 30 andthetop of the tool 12. The shaft 20 is now pushedback against the actionof the, spring 34 and the assembly is locked in place by the, plate 35.Both tools are .nowraised in the slots 1 6 until they'fi-rmly abut thebottom edges ofthe cams 28 and 29. The bolts are then tightened and theadjustment is completed. Thus by rotating the 1 front of the block 38'is recessed at 40 just above the crimping tools which are exactly asshown in FIG. 2. We provide a shaft 41 having a central axial opening 43extending inwardly from the rear end thereof. The shaft 41 is designedto fit snugly into: the bore 39 but to extend short of the inner end ofthe bore. spring 43 is positioned in the bore wit-h its front endentering the opening 42 in theshaf-t. tends to push the shaft out of thebore 39. 7

Referring particularly to FIG. 6 the shaft 41 has a four sided cam, thesides of which are arranged asset forth hereinabov-e so that no twosides are at thesame distance fronrt-h-e axis of the shaft. The outerend of the shaft 41 has a reduced diameter portion 45,'theoutermost endof which is knurled to provide a gripping surface for manual rotation ofthe shaft. The second cam 46 is mounted on a separate member and has sixsides so that it is different in configuration fro-m the cam 44. Thispermits a greater number of adjustments" to be made for operating theouter crimping memberthan for operating the inner crimping member and iscontrary to the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 4 in which both of the camshave six sides. Adjacent tothe cam 46- is an adjustment indicatingmember 47 which indicates the face of the cam 46 that is in use. The cam46 is rotated by means of a knurled extension 48 and the entiremembero-n which the cam 46,, the adjustment indicating member 47, andthe extension 48' are mounted is pro-1 vided with an innerbore 49. thatslips over the reduced diameter portion 45 of the shaft 41 so that theWhole assembly fits together as shown in FIG. 5. Operation of the deviceof FIG. 5 is'exactly the same as that of the device of FIG. 2 with theexception that the inner cam 44 and the outer cam 46 are separatelyadjustable since there is no locking pin to join them together. 7

While we have illustrated an angular adjustment using square, hexag-ons,etc., acircular cam can be used which is eccentrically mountedandcalibnated. Such a cam could provide a large number of adjustmentswith a single shape. I

In some instances it may be desirable to adjust the wire and insulationcrimps separately. where a small wire has a heavy, thick insulation. Insuch cases it may be desirable to have separate adjustments such asshown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In this form A coil The spring '43 For example,

the block 38 is identical with the block 17 and is provided with thesame bore 39 and front recess 40. However, the adjustment cams areconstructed as shown in FIG. 6. The shaft 41 is recessed at the innerend 42 to receive the spring 43. .The inner cam 44, here illustrated asa square, is firmly mounted on the shaft 41 with a reduced portion 45,extending outwardly from the cam 44. The outer cam, 46 is for-med aspart of an assembly having an annular outer plate portion 47 and aknurled portion 48 extending therefrom. A central opening 49 extendsthrough the members 46, 4'7 and 48 and has a diameter slightly greaterthan the outside diarn'eterof the portion 45. V

In'assem'bly; the portion 45 is slipped into the bore 49 and extendsoutwand-ly therefromas shown in FIG. 5. The assembly is pushed into thebore 39 againstthe action of the spring '43 The assembly is locked inplace in the same manner as the form shown in'FIG. 1. In makingadjustments, when the assemblyis loosened, turning themem ber" 45 turnsthe cam 44 and; turning the member 48 turns the cam 46,- eachindependently ofthe other. As in the first form,-the cams 44-and 46 maybe of any desired shape. I Other advantages of the present inventionwillbe readily apparent toa person skilled in the art.

We claim? u A I An adjustable crimping tool adapted tobe mounted in. thereciprocating ram of a press, com-prising a block, a pair of platesmountedin the front of said block, the

bottom edges of said plates constituting crimping tools for thebare wireand insulation of aconductor, said plate mounting comprising a pair ofhorizontally spaced holts each extending through alignedve-rtical slotsin said plates into .said block; a second block-above said first block,said second block having a recess above the upper edges of said plates,said second block having a, horizontal bore extending rearwardly fromsaid 're- ,cess, a shaft mounted in said bore,. and cam means mount- ,edon said shaft in said recess for vertically adjusting the position. ofsaid plates, acoil spring in saidbore bearing against said shaft, andmeans for removably locking saidcam means in saidrecess against theaction of said spring, said cam means. com ris n a polygonal indicatingplate mounted at the front end of said shaft, a pair of polygonal platesmounted .on said shaft behind said indieatingplate, .a lock pinextending from said indicating plate throughsaid polygonal plates, thesides of said polygonal. plates varyingin distance from thecentersthereof, the bottom. side of each polygonal plate I abutting thetop edge of one of said crimping plates,

said removable locking means comprising a plate having an elongatedslotreceiv-in-g a bolt for permitting move ment of said plate fromloEcking'position to an unlocked position slidably mounted in the. frontof said secondblock and extending over the .front. of said indicatingplate in looking position.

References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES- PATENTS" 2,762,414 9/56Demler 153 -1 3,015,020 12/61 Long 15-3- 1 3,051,213 8/ 62; :Batchel-ler15-31 3,115,922 12/63 Straubel 153--1' CHARLES w; LAN-HAM, PrimaryExaminer. RICHARD A. WAHL, MICHAEL v. BRINDISI, I a Examiners.

